Finally.....Black Belt

On August 18, I attained my goal of 1st Degree Black Belt in TaeKwon Do through the International TaeKwonDo Federation. Almost my entire family was present, and those that were unable to come, were there in spirit! Of all the things I've experienced in my life, I have to say that this is one of the most satisfying. I began my TKD journey in August, 2008; you can see it has taken me four years to go from white belt to black belt. Now, I am on a new journey...that of becoming a 2nd Degree Black Belt. The minimum amount of time allowed is 2 years. I have no doubt that someday I will get there.....no matter how long it takes.

One valuable lesson I learned in this quest, is not to worry one little bit of what people think. If a person really wants to accompish something....no matter what it is....perseverence is key. Most of the students in my class are teenagers. Many times I had to ignore how high their kicks were or their adept moves in sparring. I just kept reminding myself that each day I practiced, I was becoming better and closer to my goal.

And......I now belong to the most awesome family of martial artists. I immediately had an overwhelming sense of belonging to a special group of people......It's truly the most wonderful feeling to put on my black belt and step out onto the floor....Kiyap....

 

Woof.....Is That a Belgian Sheep Dog or a Bear??

 

Recently, Tim and I spent a weekend in Dallas. It was one of those rare occasions where the parents get a couple of romantic days alone. Concurrently, the American Kennel Association was in town with a three day dog show event. Well, how could we two dog lovers pass this up? We found ourselves totally captivated by the magic of this event......We were excited to go, but had no idea we would be so entranced and caught up in the event.
Our first day there, I actually found myself sitting next to a brown and white show dog.....a Whippet to be exact. Now, I had never seen a whippet except in photographs.......This animal was quite large, but as thin as one could imagine....the skinniest dog I had ever seen, with a pointy nose and angular face as well. I found myself looking straight into this oddly beautiful animal's eyes, the whole time marveling at his composure and confidence.He totally mastered his space.....he belonged here; this was his kingly realm and I was privileged to be sitting to his immediate right. The experience was so unexpected and unique for me that I won't soon erase the image from my thoughts. Now, the whippet was only one of hundreds of show dogs that had qualified for this regal display. Dogs of every imaginable breed were represented at the three day event. Leashed canines followed their masters/trainers from one end of Dallas Market Hall to the other. Sporting dogs, hounds, toys dogs, non-sporting dogs, terriers, you name it....they were all there, immaculately groomed to look their absolute best......Not only did they look sparkling, they were so well behaved that that their owners appeared to require more disciplining than than their obedient four legged prodigy. I admit I was quite impressed with this air of dog civility, and after only a short while, found myself comfortable in this strange world where the dogs were the center of attention far outdistancing the humans in beauty and grace....

Bridges Can Be Scary!

We have bridges in North Texas, but only the small kind. The only bridge that I have to cross is the Trinity River Bridge that crosses, of course, the Trinity River heading into Dallas. This bridge is your normal, run-of-the-mill bridge.....nothing exciting about it at all. This past weekend, I had what seemed to me to be a bridge intervention by God. Now, I have had nightmares my entire life about steep incline bridges and similarly, high, narrow freeway overpasses. This past Thursday, while attending my niece's wedding, I had a bridge encounter that made me shake, rattle and roll.....literally!
This is the Dames Point Bridge that crosses the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida.

I was totally taken by surprise at the sight of this steep bridge. My rental car was a tiny Fiat which made crossing this giant even more formidable to me. As I began the ascent I began to pray. Then, as I began to hyperventilate as I neared the apex, I began to chant, "Face your fears, face your fears". Once across, I was so relieved.....until I realized I would have to cross the bridge again on my return trip to the airport!!

Have you encountered any steep bridges in your life? I would love to hear about them!!

 Take a look at this bridge. ......Now this is a bridge that will visit your dreams!

It is the 1st Cooper Bridge in Charleston, S.C.

Or, if you are visiting the Tampa/ St. Petersburg, Florida area, you may have to cross the Skyway Bridge.

P90X

Well, a few days ago, I was watching a bit of Dr. Oz. His guest just happened to be Tony Horton of P90X fame. Now, a couple of years ago, my daughter, Suzanne and I started the P90X exercise program. We continued for approximately 30 days and stopped. It was HARD!!
I managed to persevere for that short amount of time, but eventually, I started finding reasons why I couldn't exercise on a particular day. This continued for about a week and then.....no more P90X.

Now....quite unexpectedly, there is good old Tony Horton, talking with me through the television screen. I have to say, Tony looked really good.......older than in his videos, but still a shining example of good health.
I started to think about the P90X program. When I was doing it, it was really good for me. Now, I had already made a semi New Year's resolution to add Yoga to my physical training regime. I'm testing for a first degree Black Belt in TKD in August. I want to amp up my training schedule so that I can knock that test "out of the park". The P90X actually has a great Yoga dvd included in the 12 dvd set. So, I rustled through my dvd collection and there it was......my stack of P90X dvds.....waiting there for me, not actually calling my name, but eager for me to blow the dust off them and start to "Bring It" as Tony says.

I've got two P90X routines now under my belt. While they are hard, I was surprised that in the interval between when I stopped before and today, I've gotten a lot more fit. Kudos to my martial arts teacher and diligent TKD training!!

So.....my New Year's Resolution is this......
To stay on track with P90X for the entire year.....
Black Belt here I come!!

Things I Cannot Live Without

This morning as I was rushing to leave for church, my husband sat in his chair talking with me. We had to laugh because as I was apologizing for leaving a huge mess on my computer desk, clearly the items dear to my heart accounted for the clutter found there:

My computer
Not one, but two, bottles of Diet A&W Root Beer
Lots and lots of make up and skin creams
A large oval make-up mirror
An eight by ten photo of us in Hawaii, taken five years ago on our 30th wedding anniversary
My blue appointment book which literally contains everywhere I need to be and when I need to be there (I panic if I lose this!)
My alarm clock
My cell phone
My Bible
And....a cup of hot water with lemon.
Everything a girl needs to survive her day!!